Physics Fundamentals



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Download Sample Chapters (PDF format) Chapter 4: Newton's Laws of Motion Chapter 7: Energy Chapter 16: Mechanical Waves; Sound Chapter 17: The Electric Field

About the Book: Dr. Coletta's popular textbook is now available on CD! Physics Fundamentals by Vincent Coletta meets the needs of all algebra-trigonometry based college physics courses. It is also appropriate for advanced high school physics courses, AP physics courses, or as an additional text to a lower-level high school text that requires more substantive content and engaging problems. In developing the text, Dr. Coletta conducted extensive student reviews and thorough class testing to ensure the text is understandable and interesting to a wide-range of students. Thousands of students used Physics Fundamentals in manuscript form, and peer review panels examined the material for clarity and accuracy. This extraordinary development effort has produced a text that is exceptional in its use of direct, concise language to convey ideas and its explanation of difficult concepts. Chapters open with an overview of how physics concepts relate to topics of interest to students. Wherever possible, abstract physical concepts are introduced by appealing to common experiences that illustrate the concepts. Numerous applications of physics to biology, technology, sports, and everyday life are included throughout each chapter. Derivations are sometimes integrated in the text and sometimes presented at the end of a section or chapter. This flexible organization allows the author to present the mathematical explanation at the most appropriate place to enhance student understanding, and ensures that a level of qualitative understanding has been reached before the mathematical foundations of the concept are introduced. The art program is unsurpassed in a physics text. 1500 photographs and illustrations help clarify physics concepts for today's visual learners. Three-dimensional perspective drawings are used extensively throughout the text and illustrations often accompany examples. Two kinds of essays are provided throughout the text: In Perspective historical essays and Closer Look essays that involve physical concepts or applications. The In Perspective essays are mainly short biographies of physicists who have made some of the most important discoveries in physics. They offer enough depth to humanize their subjects and sometimes to help understand what motivated their discoveries. The Closer Look essays are discussions of physical principles and applications that encourage the student to think about subjects likely to arouse interest. • Text is comprised of 30 Chapters, 900 pages, and 1500 photographs and illustrations. • Numerous applications of physics to biology, technology, and sports; illustrating the relevance and applicability of physics to students’ lives. • Abstract physical concepts are introduced by appealing to common experiences that illustrate the concepts. • Illustrated questions and problems allow students to visualize the situations described. • Over 300 worked examples — a general problem solving strategy is outlined and then reinforced in the solution of examples throughout the book. • 2000 end-of-chapter questions and problems. Many reviewers have praised the originality and effectiveness of the problems. • 1,000 page Instructor’s Solution Manual in PDF format included on separate CD. School Site License Option: The Physics Fundamentals textbook on CD may be purchased as a single copy, or by way of a school site license providing a low-cost alternative for textbook adoption. The school site license allows a school to make available to students as many textbooks as needed whenever they're needed — printed versions or on-screen versions. The textbook site license provides the following rights to an individual school and its enrolled students: i) Printing Duplication Rights: Print as many hardcopies of the textbook as needed for distribution to students. With the PDF format, hardcopies can be printed from any computer with a laser printer, or printed by your school's main printing facility. Individual chapters can be selected for printing so that you print only material that will be covered. ii) CD Duplication Rights: Duplicate as many copies of the CD version of the textbook (PDF files) as needed for distribution to students. Students have the option to view the textbook on a computer screen or print their own hardcopy book. iii) Online/Local Network Rights: Upload the textbook PDF files to your school's website or computer network for easy student access. (Site License strictly requires password protection be utilized.) iv) Perpetual License is granted with no renewal fees or expiration.

Contents

Introduction Measurement and Units 1. Description of Motion 1-1 Trajectory of a Particle 1-2 Speed 1-3 Displacement 1-4 Vector Algebra 1-5 Components of Vectors 1-6 Velocity 1-7 Problem Solving Strategy 2. Motion in a Straight Line 2-1 Acceleration in One Dimension 2-2 Linear Motion at Constant Acceleration 2-3 Free Fall Closer Look Essay: Free Fall in Air 2-4 Graphical Analysis of Linear Motion In Perspective Essay: Galileo Galilei 3. Motion in a Plane 3-1 Acceleration on a Curved Path 3-2 Projectile Motion 3-3 Circular Motion 3-4 Reference Frames and Relative Motion 4. Newton's Laws of Motion 4-1 Classical Mechanics 4-2 Force 4-3 Newton's First Law 4-4 Mass 4-5 Newton's Second and Third Laws 4-6 Force Laws 4-7 The Concept of Force 4-8 Applications of Newton's Laws of Motion 5. Friction and Other Applications of Newton's Laws 5-1 Friction Closer Look Essay: Microscopic Description of Friction 5-2 Centripetal Force 5-3 Center of Mass 6. Gravitation 6-1 Universal Gravitation 6-2 Gravitational Attraction of the Earth 6-3 Noninertial Reference Frames In Perspective Essay: Origins of the Theory of Universal Gravitation In Perspective Essay: Isaac Newton 7. Energy 7-1 Work and Kinetic Energy 7-2 Gravitational Potential Energy; Constant Gravitational Force 7-3 Gravitational Potential Energy; Variable Gravitational Force 7-4 Spring Potential Energy; Conservation of Energy 7-5 Conservative and Non-Conservative Forces 7-6 Power Closer Look Essay: The Energy to Run 7-7 Energy of a System of Particles 8. Momentum 8-1 Impulse and Linear Momentum 8-2 Momentum of a System of Particles; Conservation of Linear Momentum 8-3 Collisions and Kinetic Energy 9. Rotation 9-1 Description of Rotational Motion 9-2 Torque 9-3 Dynamics of Rotation About a Fixed Axis 9-4 Rotational Kinetic Energy 9-5 Angular Momentum 9-6 Energy Analysis of Running 10. Static Equilibrium 10-1 Conditions for Static Equilibrium 10-2 Center of Gravity 10-3 Stress and Strain 11. Fluids 11-1 Properties of Fluids 11-2 Pressure in a Fluid at Rest 11-3 Archimedes' Principle 11-4 Surface Tension and Capillarity 11-5 Fluid Dynamics; Bernoulli's Equation 11-6 Viscosity 11-7 Poiseuille's Law 12. Temperature and Kinetic Theory 12-1 Temperature Measurement 12-2 Ideal Gas Law 12-3 Kinetic Theory; Model of an Ideal Gas 12-4 Derivation of the Ideal Gas Law 12-5 Vapor Pressure and Humidity 12-6 Thermal Expansion 13. Heat 13-1 Definition of Heat 13-2 Calorimetry 13-3 Radiation 13-4 Convection 13-5 Conduction 14. Thermodynamics 14-1 Thermodynamic Systems 14-2 First Law of Thermodynamics 14-3 Heat Engines and Refrigerators 14-4 Second Law of Thermodynamics 14-5 Human Metabolism 15. Harmonic Motion 15-1 Simple Harmonic Motion 15-2 Relationship Between SHM and Circular Motion 15-3 Mass and Spring 15-4 The Pendulum 15-5 Damped and Forced Oscillations 16. Mechanical Waves; Sound 16-1 Description of Waves 16-2 Wave Speed 16-3 Moving Sources and Observers: The Doppler Effect 16-4 Power and Intensity; The Decibel Scale 16-5 Time Dependence of the Displacement of a Particle of the Medium 16-6 Superposition of Waves; Beats; Standing Waves Closer Look Essay: The Ear	17. The Electric Field 17-1 Electric Charge 17-2 Coulomb's Law 17-3 The Electric Field 17-4 Fields Produced by Continuous Distributions of Charge 17-5 Field Lines 18. Electric Potential 18-1 Electric Potential Energy and Electric Potential 18-2 Capacitance 18-3 Dielectrics 18-4 The Oscilloscope 19. Electric Current 19-1 Electric Current 19-2 Ohm's Law 19-3 Electric Power; Batteries and AC Sources Closer Look Essay: Superconductivity 19-4 Electric Current and Ohm's Law on the Microscopic Level 20. Direct Current Circuits 20-1 Description of Circuits 20-2 Kirchhoff's Rules 20-3 Equivalent Resistance 20-4 Multiloop Circuits 20-5 Measurement of Current, Potential Difference, and Resistance 20-6 RC Circuits Closer Look Essay: Electrical Effects in the Human Body 20-7 Electric Shock and Household Electricity 21. Magnetism 21-1 The Magnetic Field 21-2 Magnetic Forces on Current-Carrying Conductors 21-3 Motion of a Point Charge in a Magnetic Field 21-4 Magnetic Fields Produced by Electric Currents 21-5 Magnetic Fields Produced by Permanent Magnets 21-6 Magnetic Materials Closer Look Essay: Biomagnetism 22. Electromagnetic Induction and AC Circuits 22-1 Faraday's Law 22-2 Inductance 22-3 Alternating Current Circuits In Perspective Essay: Michael Faraday 23. Light 23-1 Electromagnetic Waves 23-2 The Nature of Light 23-3 The Propagation of Light 23-4 Reflection and Refraction 24. Geometrical Optics 24-1 Plane Mirrors 24-2 Spherical Mirrors 24-3 Lenses 25. The Eye and Optical Instruments 25-1 The Human Eye 25-2 The Magnifier 25-3 The Microscope 25-4 The Telescope Closer Look Essay: Structure of the Retina and Color Sensitivity 25-5 Factors Limiting Visual Acuity 26. Wave Optics 26-1 Wave Properties of Light 26-2 Interference 26-3 Diffraction 26-4 Polarization Closer Look Essay: Magic in the Sky 27. Relativity 27-1 Measurement of Time; Einstein's Postulates 27-2 Time Dilation 27-3 Length Contraction 27-4 Relative Velocity 27-5 Relativistic Mass and Energy Closer Look Essay: General Relativity In Perspective Essay: Albert Einstein 28. Quantum Concepts 28-1 Photons 28-2 Wave-Particle Duality 28-3 The Uncertainty Principle In Perspective Essay: Richard Feynman In Perspective Essay: Stephen Hawking 29. The Atom 29-1 Atomic Spectra and the Bohr Model of the Atom 29-2 Wave Properties of Electrons; Quantum Mechanics 29-3 Quantum Theory of Atomic Structure and Spectra; X-Rays Closer Look Essay: Lasers Closer Look Essay: Semiconductors 30. Nuclear Physics and Elementary Particles 30-1 Nuclear Structure 30-2 Radioactive Decay 30-3 Nuclear Reactions; Fission and Fusion 30-4 Biological Effects of Radiation 30-5 Elementary Particles In Perspective Essay: Marie Curie Appendix A Review of Mathematics B Gauss' Law C Models of Electrical Conduction in Metals D Selected Isotopes E Answers to Odd-Numbered Problems Index


About the Author: Dr. Vincent Coletta earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Notre Dame, and has been a Professor of Physics at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for over 25 years. Dr. Coletta’s graduate research involved calculating long-range correlations between spins in many-body magnetic systems – a problem in statistical mechanics. His graduate research advisor was Professor Gerald Jones, an academic descendent of Uhlenbeck, Sommerfeld, and Boltzmann. Dr. Coletta’s textbook was first published in 1995, and has been used throughout the world. Over the past years Dr. Coletta has been active in Physics Education Research – the scientific investigation of the learning and teaching of physics. He has analyzed test results from thousands of students, in order to better understand the effect of students’ reasoning skills on their success in physics. This has led to publications in the American Journal of Physics, Physical Review, and The Physics Teacher. He is now beginning a new project, Thinking in Physics, designed to enhance the reasoning skills of students at risk in introductory physics. This project has received National Science Foundation funding. Dr. Coletta has chaired the LMU Physics Dept. for 11 years. In that capacity, he built the department’s Interactive Physics Classroom, with a unique design that facilitates interactive learning.